Halloween Craft for your Littles

This Craft doesn't need any explaining but it sure is cute!
And yes, that is my daughters bum;)

Spray Bottle Paint

I should've posted this at the beginning of the summer.. But since I'm so good at procrastinating I'll post it on the first day of fall. This is such a fun, easy and cheap activity for your toddler. Go to Walmart, grab some 99 cent spray bottles, washable paint and some canvas. Put the paint in the spray bottle and add some water and shake it around. Then let your kid go to town sparying the canvas!!

DIY multiple burlap wreath

It's September!  Which means it's time to start my fall crafts.  Burlap and college football scream fall so I put the two together to make this pretty wreath.  I always saw these wreaths all over Pinterest and was intimidated by them because they look so complicated, but after looking at a few tutorials, I found my own easy way of doing it and it turned out great!  

Go Utes!

What you need:

16" wire wreath

3 rolls of wired burlap in different colors- 30 feet each and about 2.5" in thickness

any accents you want 

Fold the end of a piece of burlap into fourths.

Tie in a know over the middle two wires of the wreath.

With the back of the wreath facing you, take the burlap and start weaving it through each frame making big enough loops.

When you're ready for another roll, tie it on like before and start weaving. 

Make sure you're bunching it close together.

 When going back to use the other burlap, twist it in the back so it will stay and weave it.

Keep going all the way around.

Add your accents and you're done!

Valentine's Day Banner

I found the cutest Valentine's Day banner online the other day but it was $20!  I was not going to pay that much for a banner and shipping on top of that.  I decided to venture to Hobby Lobby and find some cute scrapbook paper, ribbon, mini clothes pins, twine, and little Valentine's knick knacks.   I made this in about 20 minutes and it was under $10 to make.  Such a fun, easy and festive craft to put you in the spirit of love for this holiday coming up! 

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Truffle Spider Cookies

It's almost Halloween!  For me, Halloween is less about the costumes and more about the food and candy!  These Spider Cookies are such a fun and cute treat especially for little kids.  They were also fun to make and of course easy!

What you need:

1/2 cup butter- softened

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

24 round chocolate truffles (Lindt Truffles work great)

chocolate chips- for melting

candy eyes 

(found in the baking section of Walmart or any craft store)

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

- Cream together butter and peanut butter with a mixer.  Add sugars and beat.  Add egg and vanilla and beat.

- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture beating at a low speed.

- Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a large cookie sheet.  Cook for 8 minutes.  Take out and press the center down (I used a cookie dough scoop).  This will cause the cookie to crack and get flatter in the middle.  Bake for 8 more minutes. 

- Now this is the tricky part.  Let the cookies cool to room temperature then take the truffles and press it down into the middle of each cookie.  If the cookie is still hot enough it will melt the truffle, and if the cookie is cooled too much then it won't stick to the cookie.  Room temperature!  If you're scared the truffle will melt, just wait till the cookies cool completely then take the melted chocolate and use it as glue for the truffle.

- Melt the chocolate and put into a plastic bag.  Cut a tiny hole in the bottom corner and make legs coming out of the truffle.  Take the eyes and put a dab of chocolate on the back to glue the eyes onto the truffle.

Such a fun and easy Halloween treat! Enjoy!

Inspired by http://www.aspicyperspective.com

Burlap Fall Wreath

Sometimes I pretend I'm crafty and attempt a project.  I actually enjoy making wreaths when I have the time, except I didn't have the time this week, I just keep procrastinating my math homework.  I love this wreath because it looks like I spent a lot of time on it but it only took me about two hours (most of the time was cutting the burlap squares).  So I watched the two new episodes of the Big Bang Theory and Modern Family and I was done!

What you need:

13-14" Styrofoam Wreath

2 Yards of Burlap

Ribbon

Pins

Good Fabric Scissors

Cut a 2" strip of burlap and wrap around the wreath

Cut the rest of the burlap into 3x3" squares

Fold each square in half and in half again

Place a pin in the corner and attach to the wreath

Repeat the above step with each square until your wreath is covered

(I only covered the front and not the back)

Take ribbon and cut in different lengths (to get different size flowers) 

Tie a knot at the top of the ribbon

Take the knot and keep twisting around and around in circles until it forms a flower

(I kept hot glueing every time I went around so that it wouldn't come undone)

Hot glue the flowers to the wreath

And there it is! Cute and Simple!

Giant Pom Pom Garland

I can't believe my baby boy is 1!  How cute are these pictures of Kayden that were taken at Camera Shy?! (camershy.com)  I wanted a cute background for Kayden's smash cake pictures looked on Pinterest forever.  I'm not much of a crafter.  It seems that everything I make turns out horrible, but I came across this site, http://www.bestbirthdays.ca/2014/05/giant-pom-poms.html and decided to go for it!  These giant pom poms were so easy (once I got the hang of it) and they turned out so cute!  It gave these pictures a perfect pop of fun and I'll treasure these photos forever!

What you need:

Yarn- I got 6 balls (the fatter the ball of yarn the poofier)

A good pair of scissors

A long string of thin ribbon

-Take a long string out of the ball of yarn and cut it.  Wrap it around the middle of the ball and tie it tight.  This should make a snowman type shape.

-Cut through all the loops on one side.  Then turn over and do it to the other side.

-Grab your ball of yarn by the long string you tied.  Now you get to trim all the yarn hanging down.  Just keep cutting and cutting.  Cut from all angels, turning it around and around making the shape of a sphere.  The shorter you cut, the poofier it gets.

-Repeat these steps with each ball of yarn.

-When you've made all the balls, get a long piece of thin ribbon, take the long pieces you tied from each pom and tie them on the ribbon.

-You've just made a giant pom pom garland!

(for step by step pictures, go to the link I posted above.)

   

Easter Bunny Cake

It's almost Easter, and I have the perfect activity for you and your family!  Making this bunny cake is one of my favorite holiday traditions.  My mom always made this with her children growing up and now she does it with her grandchildren.  This Easter bunny cake is so easy and fun to do with kids.  I seriously look forward to this every Easter and love watching my nieces and nephews attack the bunny cake with candy.

What you'll need:

your favorite cake mix- preferably a white/light colored mix

Any flavor of white frosting

optional:

shredded/flaked coconut 

jelly beans

peel apart licorice 

and any other favorite Easter candy

Bake the cake mix according to the directions on the box

Use 2 8x8 round cake pans

After the cakes have cooled, take one of the rounds and cut the ends as pictured above.  This leaves you with 2 ears and a bow tie.

Place the circle cake in the middle of a baking sheet and add the ears and bow tie as pictured above.

Time to decorate!  Frost the entire cake (I put the frosting in the microwave for 15 seconds to make it spread easy).  Put the shredded coconut over the face and ears (optional).  And the rest is up to you for how you want it to look!  

This is how my finished bunny looked.  How cute?!

I now have to share a couple of cakes that many, many nieces and nephews have helped with over the years.  They turn out a little rough, but the kids love it and the memories stay with you forever!

(My mom is going to be horrified that I put these up, but I love what the kids add to it!)